A CABOT CREEK UNIVERSITY PROMPT; Lockdown. Pt. 1.
A cold front passes through Vermont, taking with it the warmth and humidity of a long summer. It is but September and though leaves remain emerald, overcast afternoons with temperatures rapidly falling from stifling to just below comfortable remind Cabot Creek’s residence that Autumn is just around the corner. With Autumn comes Halloween, a holiday few can argue is celebrated anywhere else on the globe in quite the way it is at Cabot Creek University. Parties, festivals, and everything creepy are on the horizon, but for now, many make plans to spend weekends apple picking between the semester’s first round of major assignments.
But, for some, Cabot Creek University has begun opening doors to the mysterious and eerie and despite valiant efforts from high-rank staff, it is growing increasingly impossible to keep at bay and people are beginning to notice.
Don’t be surprised if you see something on campus, especially if you dare wander the grounds after dark. Try not to go out alone. They like it when you’re alone.
Reports of Shadow Demons and inexplicable orbs have been frequent; but do you believe them? There’s also been talks of the strange, eerie noises coming from that pesky Faustus Hall. Some will see things that make them question all that they know.
It isn’t just the inexplicable that have Cabot Creek University’s students and staff on edge; and what is about to come may be much worse.
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH
12:00PM
The blaring sound of sirens played through emergency speakers all around campus, boom through the crisp morning air in conjunction with the buzzing of thousands of phones. Cabot Creek University’s Emergency Alert System has sent out a mass text to all students and staff.
[CCU EMERGENCY ALERT] 12:00PM: Level III threat on campus. All students
and faculty should get indoors within a
locked and secure room until further
notice.
No other information is provided.
All those in classes are forced to stay put. Professors attend training prior to beginning their position with Cabot Creek University and though they know what to do, most never imagined having to face a genuine threat. They lock the doors, flip off the lights, and pull shut any shades that are in the classroom.
Students in dormitories, apartments, and houses are also to stay put, locking their doors.
Individuals at work or in offices are advised to find the nearest safe area in a bigger room with others.
Those that are outside, playing sports, in the gymnasium, in the cafeteria, or in shops must find the nearest school building and go inside to be locked in with the closest group.
Terror explodes through the university and beyond. Hushed voices discuss what could potentially be cause for the alert. Some speculate about horrors they have seen on the news while others believe it is nothing to worry about. Whatever it is, they are stuck until further notice.
Two hours pass and with no word, some grow restless with hunger, boredom, and confusion.
Finally, at 4:00PM, the university sends another text.
[CCU EMERGENCY ALERT] 4:00PM: Reports of a shooting in town
resulting in possible murder in
Cabot Creek town center. Police
presence strong on campus. Stay
on lock down until further notice.
The update, while alarming, gives answers. However, it reawakens panic that’d just begun to ebb in the restless members of Cabot Creek University. Fear is known to bring out negative energy and it may not just be the active threat on campus that is a danger to everyone.
At 5:53PM, students and faculty in the Fine Arts Center and Baker Residence Hall hear a distant gunshot.
